{"id":32796,"date":"2015-11-16T05:56:06","date_gmt":"2015-11-16T12:56:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=32796"},"modified":"2025-07-26T14:45:02","modified_gmt":"2025-07-26T19:45:02","slug":"immature-white-crowned-sparrow-molting-to-adult-plumage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/11\/16\/immature-white-crowned-sparrow-molting-to-adult-plumage\/","title":{"rendered":"Immature White-crowned Sparrow Molting To Adult Plumage"},"content":{"rendered":"

My post today is an image of an immature White-crowned Sparrow molting into adult plumage and two images showing a juvenile and an adult for comparison.<\/p>\n

\"SnowySnowy day juvenile White-crowned Sparrow – Nikon D200, f6.3, 1\/1600, ISO 400, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

I’ll start with the juvenile, or first winter, White-crowned Sparrow photographed at Farmington Bay WMA in the winter of 2010. The juveniles look very different in plumage compared to the adults but they have the same basic shape, behaviors and posture. Their back pattern is duller than seen on adults, their wing bars are less defined, their eye-line and lateral crown-stripe is brown and their supercilium is a dull gray-brown.<\/p>\n

During the winter I see lots of juvenile White-crowned Sparrows virtually every where I go to photograph birds in northern Utah.<\/p>\n

\"ImmatureImmature White-crowned Sparrow molting to adult plumage – Nikon D810, f10, 1\/640, ISO 320, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

This image of an immature White-crowned Sparrow molting was taken in April of this year on Antelope Island State Park<\/a><\/span>. The back pattern on this immature sparrow is more defined and crisper than the first winter individual in the first image, there are new tail feathers filling in and the plumage pattern on the head of this bird is very different than the first winter bird. The supercilium is getting brighter, the lateral crown-stripe has some blackish feathers and the eye-line is changing from brown to black even though in this image it looks like it has disappeared there are a few darker feathers there.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult White-crowned Sparrow at Lee Kay Ponds – Nikon D300, f7.1, 1\/1250, ISO 500, +0.7 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

This final image shows an adult White-crowned Sparrow taken in January of 2014 at Lee Kay Ponds in Salt Lake County.\u00a0 The lateral crown-stripe and eye-line are black, the supercilium is a dull white though on some individuals it can be brighter than shown here.<\/p>\n

I’m happy that I was able to take the image of the immature White-crowned Sparrow molting because for me it kind of fills in the age gap between the first winter White-crowned Sparrow images I have and those of the adults.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good. Birds make it more interesting.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my White-crowned Sparrow photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My post today is an image of an immature White-crowned Sparrow molting into adult plumage and two images showing a juvenile and an adult for comparison. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":150969,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[511,27,1022,697,4733,709,26,356],"tags":[4004,2450,4067,4071,2313,855,4195,4327,4256],"class_list":["post-32796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-lee-kay-ponds","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","category-white-crowned-sparrows","tag-adult","tag-first-winter","tag-immature","tag-juvenile","tag-molting","tag-sparrow","tag-sparrows","tag-white-crowned-sparrow","tag-zonotrichia-leucophrys"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/white-crowned-sparrow-molting-mia-mcpherson-5660.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-8wY","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":38227,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/04\/13\/molting-immature-white-crowned-sparrows\/","url_meta":{"origin":32796,"position":0},"title":"Molting Immature White-crowned Sparrows","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 13, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"April in northern Utah is a good time to see and photograph molting immature White-crowned Sparrows.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Molting immature White-crowned Sparrow side view, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/white-crowned-sparrow-molt-side-view-mia-mcpherson-4488.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/white-crowned-sparrow-molt-side-view-mia-mcpherson-4488.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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"Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Birds","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"An adult White-crowned Sparrow on a branch of an apple tree, Farmington Bay WMA, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/white-crowned-sparrow-adult-mia-mcpherson-9736.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/white-crowned-sparrow-adult-mia-mcpherson-9736.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/white-crowned-sparrow-adult-mia-mcpherson-9736.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/white-crowned-sparrow-adult-mia-mcpherson-9736.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/white-crowned-sparrow-winter-low-light-tree-mia-mcpherson-2965.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/white-crowned-sparrow-winter-low-light-tree-mia-mcpherson-2965.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/white-crowned-sparrow-winter-low-light-tree-mia-mcpherson-2965.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/white-crowned-sparrow-winter-low-light-tree-mia-mcpherson-2965.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9950,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/10\/24\/juvenile-white-crowned-sparrow-foraging\/","url_meta":{"origin":32796,"position":3},"title":"Juvenile White-crowned Sparrow foraging","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 24, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Lately I have been seeing White-crowned Sparrows in the West Desert, at Farmington Bay WMA and Antelope Island State Park in increasing numbers and many of them will over winter here in the Salt Lake Valley.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Juvenile White-crowned Sparrow foraging on Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/white-crowned-sparrow-mia-mcpherson-3454.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/white-crowned-sparrow-mia-mcpherson-3454.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Sparrow","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"December 1, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"White-crowned Sparrows are one of the many birds that I see often during the cold winters of northern Utah.","rel":"","context":"In "Davis County"","block_context":{"text":"Davis County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/davis-county-utah\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Juvenile White-crowned Sparrow on a cold day in northern Utah.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/white-crowned-sparrow-mia-mcpherson-juvenile-6756.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/white-crowned-sparrow-mia-mcpherson-juvenile-6756.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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